However Ronaldo instead opted to sign a new £15 million-a-year deal with Real, though the Spanish club's former president Ramon Calderon - who signed Ronaldo for £80 million in 2009 - feels he may not see it out.

Calderon claimed: "I do not think he [Ronaldo] will finish his career at Real. I feel that one day he will return to England.

"In Madrid, he is pleased with the city and the fans. But I think his relationship with [Real president] Florentino Perez is not as good as it was with Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

"Ronaldo loves father figures. With Florentino, he does not have that rapport. The relationship is bad or actually non-existent. He stays at Real despite the chairman.

"I was afraid he was going to leave [in the summer] because he is our best player. I have the feeling that Cristiano has a clause in his contract allowing him to leave when he wants."